Method and apparatus for securing handles in sledge heads

ABSTRACT

AFTER THE SLOTTED FRONT END OF A SLEDGE HANDLE HAS BEEN STARTED IN THE PASSAGE THROUGH A SLEDGE HEAD, THE HEAD IS HELD SATIONARY WHILE THE FRONT END OF THE HANDLE IS PUSHED THROUGH IT AND OUT OF ITS FRONT. THE PROJECTING FRONT END OF THE HANDLE THEN IS REMOVED. THE FRONT END OF THE REMAINDER OF THE HANDLE IS PUSHED AGAINST A STATIONARY BLADE   TO OPEN THE FRNT END OF THE HANDLE SLOT. THE HANDLE THEM IS MOVED FORWARD AGAINST A STATIONARY WOODEN WEDGE TO FORCE THE EDGE INTO THE SLOT. FINALLY, THE HANDLE IS PUSHED FORWARD AGAINST A STATIONARY METAL WEDGE TO FORCE THE HANDLE ONTO THAT WEDGE ALSO.

March 9, 1971 H. WQQDINGS ETAL 3,568,297

r METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING HANDLES IN SLEDGE HEADS Filed July31, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. W/L 65/?7'bf W000/1V6S 8y7191400505 5.5401420 ATTORNEYS.

Mamba, 1971 gE-m 3,568,297

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING HANDLES IN SLEDGE HEADS FiledJuly 51,.1969 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 L a M i 43 /9 INVENTORS.

W/wmm WMD/MS ATTOR/VEVS.

March 9, 1971 w H; WOODINGS ETAL 3,568,297

A METHOD AND APPARATUS. FOR SECURING HANDLES IN SLEDGE HEADS Filed July31, 1969 4 Sheets-Sheet :s

AMWEQQ i I 1 N VE N TORS Midi-R7714 WOOD/N65 BY THADDEUS SKOWRO/VATTORA/ASVS.

March 9, 1971 w. H. WOODINGS ETAL 3,568,297

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING HANDLES IN SLEDGE HEADS Filed July 31,1969 4 Sheets-Sheet L INVENTORS.

BY 7/14005055. SAOWROA/ 147' TORNEYS MLBEAT/i mop/ms United StatesPatent 3,568,297 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SECURING HANDLES IN SLEDGEHEADS Wilbert H. Woodings, Pittsburgh, and Thaddeus S. Skowron, Verona,Pa., assignors to Woodings-Verona Tool Works, Verona, Pa.

Filed July 31, 1969, Ser. No. 846,472 Int. Cl. B21k /14 US. Cl. 29-42913 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE After the slotted front end of asledge handle has been started in the passage through a sledge head, thehead is held stationary while the front end of the handle is pushedthrough it and out of its front. The projecting front end of the handlethen is removed. The front end of the remainder of the handle is pushedagainst a stationary blade to open the front end of the handle slot. Thehandle them is moved forward against a stationary wooden wedge to forcethe wedge into the slot. Finally, the handle is pushed forward against astationary metal wedge to force the handle onto that wedge also.

The customary way of assembling a handle with the head of a sledge, maulor hammer is to pound the'head onto the front end of the handle untilthe handle is tight in the passage through the head and projects fromits front end. The projecting portion then is sawed off and a woodenwedge is hammered into the closed handle slot within the head. Foradditionalsecurity, a metal wedge them is hammered into the front end ofthe handle. Usually this assembling is done by hand, but there aremachines for hammering the head and the wedges into place. Although themachines relieve a workman of some of the manual operations, they arenot very eflicient. Their production rate is low.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a method andapparatus for securing handles in'sledge heads, which can be automatic,which'completes the job in considerably less than a minute and whichmakes the connection between the handle and the head exceptionallysecure.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, in which:

. FIG. 1 is a front view of the machine;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary horizontal section taken on the lineIIIIII-of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a side view;

FIGS. 5 and v6 are enlarged fragmentary vertical sections taken on thelines VV and VIVI, respectively, of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 7 to are fragmentary front views of the upper part of the machine,illustrating its principal operations; and

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary front end view of an assembledsledge.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4 of the drawings, amachine frame is formed froma tubular vertical post 1, from the lower end of which a pair offorwardly'diverging legs 2 extend. The top of the post supports a pairof forwardly diverging arms 3 that may be in the form of heavy tubes.Secured to the front end of each of these arms is a vertical plate, thetwo plates 4 and 5 being in the same vertical plane andspaced apart.

Near the bottom of the post there is a vertical plate 7 in a planeparallel to plates 4 and 5. This lower plate is supported by a section 8of I-beam, the rear end of which Patented Mar. 9, 1971 ice is welded tothe post. Secured to the front of plate 7 is a vertical hydrauliccylinder 9 provided with a double acting piston connected to a pistonrod 10 projecting from the upperend of the cylinder. The upper end ofthe rod is connected to the lowerend ofa heavy'vertical channel 11 thatopens forward. This channel is slidable vertically in guides 12projecting from the frame post. The sides of the channel are providedwith pairs of slots 13 (FIG. 1) at vertically spaced intervals. A block14 with laterally projecting horizontal flanges that can fit in any pairof those slots fits in the channel for supporting the wooden handle 15of a sledge. Preferably, the block is .provided with a downwardlyextending recess for receiving the lower end of the handle. When thehandle is shorter, the block will be placed higher up in the channel.

Means are provided for securely holding the handle in the channel orhandle support. A convenient way of doing this shown in FIG. 1 is tomount vertically spaced'pads 17 in the channel along one side. Similarpads 18 are-disposed ,at the opposite side of the channel, but they areattached to double acting pistons mounted in horizontal hydrauliccylinders 19 secured to the outside of the channel. When fluid pressureis supplied to the outer ends of these cylinders, the movable pads pressthe handle against the stationary pads and together they hold itsecurely.

Secured to the front faces of the two upper'plates 4 and 5 of the'frameare heavyblocks 21 and 22. The upper parts of these two blocks areprovided with aligned rectangular passages therethrough, in each ofwhich a heavy bar 23 fits as shown in IFIGS. 1, 5, and 6. The outer endsof the bars are provided with axial bores, at the outer ends of whichnuts 24 are welded for receiving adjusting screws. The screws extendaway from the bars and are rotatably mounted in vertical strips 26. Thescrews permit the bars to be adjusted toward and away from each other toform an anvil with a central opening. The inner ends of the bars arelocated close enough together so that a sledge head '27 raised againstthem will engage the bottoms of the bars, but they are far enough apartso that Lhey do not overlie the vertical passage 28 through the ead.

The slotted front end of the sledge handle is started in the headpassage by a workman simply pushing it part way into the passage. Thenthe sledge is placed in supporting channel 11 and clamped there betweenthe pads. Fluid pressure then is supplied to the lower end of cylinder 9to cause the handle support to move forward toward the anvil. Thisraises the sledge until its head strikes the anvil and can move nofurther, but the handle continues to move a short distance further andis pushed up through the head passage and out of its upper or front endinto the space between the'anvil bars, as shown in FIG. 7. Thisprojecting end of the handle then is removed by a saw or router 30carried by and driven by an electric motor 31 supported on a slide 32that has laterally projecting flanges slidably mounted in guideways 33in the parallel forks of a horizontal plate 34 secured to the top of thepost and the front plates 4 and 5. A hydraulic cylinder 35 is mountedbehind the slide on plate 34 and its piston rod 36 is connected to theback of the slide for moving the motor forward and back. When it ismoved forward, the router removes the projecting end of the handle. Thesledge then is lowered to its lower position for a moment.

The bottom of block 21 has a horizontal rectangular passage through it,in which a bottom bar 38 is slidably mounted. This bar projects from theinner end of the block, but not far enough to interfere with thevertical movements of the sledge. The projecting inner end of the barcarries a downwardly directed tapered blade 39. that extendstransversely across it. With the sledge in its lower position after itshandle has been pushed up through the-head, the blade is moved inwardlyinto a position directly above the closed slot in the handle by means ofa pneumatic cylinder 40 connected with the outer end of the bar. Whilethe blade is in this inner operative position, the sledge is raisedagain to press the cut off upper end of the handle against the blade asshown in FIG. 8, which thereby froms a wedge-shaped groove at the upperend of the clo'sed slot. Then the sledge is lowered again and the bladeretracted. Cylinder 40 is operated through a solenoid valve 41 fedthrough a pipe 42 from a header 43 extending across the machine andsupported by the front of post 1. The valve has a built in delayedaction so that the blade will not be retracted until after the sledgehas been disengaged from it.

One of the blocks, preferably block 22, contains a horizontal lowerpassage in which a bar 45 is slidably mounted. The inner end of this barprojects from the block but normally does not extend into the path ofmovement of the sledge. The inner end of the bar is formed fortemporarily supporting a wooden wedge 46 facing the handle support andextending across the bar. This can be done, as shown in FIG. 8, byproviding the bar with downwardly converging bores 47 having reducedlower end portions and plugged upper ends. There are three bores, asindicated in FIG. 5. Two of them are side by side in parallel relation.Slidably mounted in these bores are headed pins 48 that normally projectfrom the bottom of the bar for engaging the opposite sides of the wedgeand holding it up against the bar. Upward movement of the pins isresisted by coil springs 49 in the bores.

After the upper end of the slot in the handle has been opened by blade39, the bar carrying the wooden wedge is moved inwardly to position thewedge in line with the slot. The bar is moved by a pneumatic cylinder 51controlled by a solenoid valve 52 connected by a pipe 53 with header 43.The sledge is then raised again until its head strikes the overlying bar45 as shown in FIG. 9. The pins 448 are forced up into the bar by thehandle. During this movement, the wedge is forced into the handle slotto wedge the handle tightly within the head. The sledge and bar then areretracted. The groove formed in the handle by blade 39 helps the wedgeget started into the handle slot, but it may not be necessary in everycase.

Opposite the bar just mentioned, another bar 55 may be slidably mountedin a horizontal recess in block 21. The inner end of this bar projectsfrom the block but normally is out of the path of movement of thesledge. The bottom of the inner end of the bar carries a magnet 56 towhich a metal wedge 57 can be attached. Forbest results, this wedge is adownwardly tapered ring. The bar is moved inwardly by a pneumaticcylinder 58, controlled by a solenoid valve 59, to align the wedge withthe axis of the sledge handle. Then the sledge is raised for the lasttime until its head strikes bar 55. During this operation, the metalwedge is pressed into the handle and wooden wedge within the head, asshown in FIGS. and 11. The sledge is then lowered, the gripping pads arereleased from its handle and the finished sledge is removed from theholder The use of a metal wedge as well as a wooden wedge is notabsolutely necessary in all cases, but the combination provides a moresecure connection than a single wedge does.

After the wooden and metal wedges have been put in place in this machineand the sledge has been placed in its holder, the machine can be set inmotion and cycled automatically to cause it to perform its variousoperations on the sledge. A complete cycle of the machine takes lessthan a minute, so it has a high rate of production. There is nohammering, but only straight pressure. The only manual operationsrequired are the starting of a handle in a head, placing of the sledgein 4 its holder, pushing of a button to start the machine, and removingthe finished sledge from the machine.

We claim:

1. A machine for securing the slotted front end of a wooden handle in apassage through a sledge head, comprising a normally retracted movablesupport for holding the handle with itsfront end started in the headpassage, an anvil spaced in front of said support and having a centralopening through it, the support being movable forward to press thesledge head against the anvil and to then push the front end of thehandle through the head passage and out into said anvil opening, wherebythe handle slot is closed, means for cutting off the projecting frontend of the handle, means adjacent the anvil for detachably supporting awooden wedge facing the handle support, means for moving the woodenwedge support into and out of the space between the anvil and theretracted sledge support, and means for reciprocating said handlesupport to first press the sledge head against said anvil and tosubseqeuntly force into the front end of the handle slot a wooden wedgecarried by the wooden wedge support.

2. A machine according to claim 1, in which said handle supportreciprocates vertically, said anvil is above that support, and saidwedge support is reciprocated horizontally.

3. A machine according to claim 1, including means for moving saidcutting 01f means back and forth across said anvil opening.

4. A machine according to claim 1, in which said handle support includesa vertical channel for receiving a sledge handle laterally, a basemember in the channel for the handle to rest upon, and means movableinwardly from aside of the channel for pressing against the handletherein to clamp it in the channel.

5. A machine according to claim 4, in which said base member is avertically adjustable block for handles of different lengths.

6. A machine according to claim 1, in which said wooden wedge support isprovided with bores, pins slid- .ably mounted in'the bores andprojecting therefrom in positions to hold a wooden wedge between them,and springs in the bores compressible by said pins when the pinsareengaged by the front end of a sledge handle.

7. A machine according to claim 1, including means adjacent the anvilrigidly supporting a blade facing the handle support, and means formoving the blade support into and out of said space to position theblade for engagement by the front end of'the handle to open the frontend of the handle'slot before the wooden wedge is inserted.

8. A machine according to claim 7, in which the means that move theblade support into and out of said space include means for delayingretraction of that support until after said handle support has retractedfar enough to withdraw the handle from said blade.

9. A machine according to claim 1, including means adjacent the anvilfor detacha-bly supporting a metal wedge facing the handle support, andmeans for moving the metal wedge support into and out of said space toposition the metal wedge for engagement by the front end of the handlefor insertion therein after insertion of the wooden wedge.

10. A machine according to claim 9, in which said metal wedge supportincludes a magnet for holding a metal wedge against it.

11. The method of securing the slotted front end of a wooden handle in asledge head having a handle-receiving passage through it, comprisingstarting the handle into said passage, then holding the head stationarywhile exerting forward pressure against the rear end of the handle topush the front end'of the handle through the head passage and out infront of it and close the handle slot, removing the projecting front endof the handle, retracting the sledge, moving a wooden wedge intoalignment with said slot, again exerting said pressure to move thehandle forward to force the wedge into the slot, and retracting thesledge.

12. The method recited in claim 11, including the steps of moving ablade into alignment with the closed handle slot before insertion of thewooden wedge, exerting said 5 pressure to move the handle forward tocause the blade to open the front end of its slot for subsequentreception of the wooden wedge, and then retracting the sledge and thensaid blade.

13. The method recited in claim 11, including the steps of moving ametal wedge into a position in front of the handle after insertion ofthe wooden wedge, again exerting said pressure to force the handleforward onto the metal wedge, and retracting the sledge.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,708,305 5/1955 Ohl 29242 FRANKT. YOST, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 29242

